


Trip

by UnscathedPaper



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29929143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnscathedPaper/pseuds/UnscathedPaper
Summary: Two Sisters pause their road trip to stop at a Gas station.(A very light horror thing, moreso just a creepy setting that's been in my head for a while.)





	Trip

The summer was too rainy for Mel. Honestly, it was too rainy for Memphis as well--summer heat mixed with warm rain just meant fog everywhere and Mel was starting to get sick and tired of its humid and clammy effects on her surroundings.

The mountainside road was only barely maintenanced. The pavement was made up of trillions of misaligned, onyx-painted concrete bumps with a chopped line of faded mustard rectangles to evenly halven it and a sizable disproportion of minuscule cracks or small animal bodies that found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aside from brass-iron guardrails that had become coarse merlot with the assault of time and the elements, the path before her was bordered by tall trees-- Willow Oak Trees if her memory was correct. Most of them seemed young if one were to judge them by their thin physique, their scrawny arms, or the small population of leaves that sprouted from their branches. At first, when she’d spotted them while passing by, they looked almost like attentive soldiers welcoming home a well-respected royal figure. But the sky had been brighter and less cloudy then as well. The cheery brightness of the morning had long since faded into obscurity as an atmosphere of shadowy azure fog replaced its presence with depressing heaviness. The warmth of these roadside citizens slowly melted into cold, lifeless statues of dark mocha bark with gnarly limbs pointing in every direction. With night’s impending arrival, they were becoming barely distinguishable shadows in the cobalt fog.

It almost seemed like an entirely different world out there, but it was a thought that seemed many years old. The drowsy blue mist of the outside world was unable to touch 10-year old Melanie Shai with anything more than boredom now. She was bored of the oppressive fog, the looming trees, and the old car seat she’d been stuck in for the past two and a half hours. The braces on her legs were starting to make her weak knees ache, the seatbelt was starting to feel like a half-done straightjacket and the car itself was cold as a freezer. Of all the cars in the universe, why were they stuck in the oldest and crappiest one? A rusty red 1993 Ford Explorer with a broken A/C, an engine with strep throat, and the world’s worst radio antenna. If it weren’t for Jenner and his toasty fur coat in her lap, she’d likely be a popsicle. One of the more infuriating aspects of this whole thing was the fact that Sydney didn’t seem to bat an eye at any of this. If Mel was freezing in her dark red hoodie with a warm cat in her lap, her older sister had to be cold in her charcoal grey sweater and jeans.

Mel stroked Jenner’s back with a cold hand, but still, the feline didn’t stir. If anything, he just snuggled deeper against her stomach and purred gently into the sound of the rain patter of the car. It was nearly enough to earn a smile from Mel, but only nearly. She shuddered a little and imagined her cheeks and nose probably looked rosy right about now. “Can we go to Walmart?” She asked suddenly after a deep exhale through her nose. She could have sworn she just saw her breath before her eyes. 

Sydney’s ponytail made it easy to glance at people from the corner of her eye. It was likely that focus was needed to make driving on the sopping wet roads easy; with the tires as bad as they were, one wrong move could have the whole car spinning. “A Walmart in the middle of the woods?”

Mel kept petting the dozing cat, glancing out of the window again. There was a bit of litter in a few small bushes, along with a blood-red balloon that some poor kid probably lost a long time ago. It was a wonder that it survived all the rain. “I just want to buy you a portable heater for the car. I’m gonna freeze in here.”

“I’m getting it repaired soon.” Sydney reminded her, saying the same thing that had been said earlier before they happened upon a McDonalds near lunchtime. “Sometime after this road trip is over when I’m back in Berclair. Saves you a bit of money.”

Mel grunted something unintelligible to that. She couldn’t fathom a school cruel enough to give their students only a month off for summer, compared to the two and a half months that Mel’s school had given them. It was one of the many reasons she was miffed about the idea of college in general and couldn’t understand why her sister was fine with it. Maybe you just liked boring things the older you got. Maybe they were good tricksters and her sister was one of many fooled into thinking it was a good place to be. “Well, I’m at least gonna buy you a car charger or something. My phone is pretty much dead.”

“Mine too. Not that the signal out here is good for it anyway. Besides, the point of a road trip is to have a trip on the road and not your phone. We could talk while we’re here.” She offered with a shrug, slowing the car down as they made a curving left turn into a road stretch surrounded by more trees than before. The headlights thankfully worked well in this darker setting, making the road seem glittery. “ How’s school been?”

Mel resisted the urge to scowl; did there have to be a discussion over that with every family member she knew? It wasn’t her favorite topic. “It’s been nothing. It’s summer, remember?”

Sydney smiled a little, enough to be noticeable from where she sat. “Okay, how was it before it ended, Ms. Smarts? Heard your last month went out with a...punch, so to speak.”

Mel tensed a little at her words, slowly ceasing to pet the ball of fur beneath her hand. “It’s not like I just did it out of nowhere. She kicked--”

“Kicked your crutch out from under you, I know. I was told the details. The kid shouldn't have done that.”

“But?”

“But punching somebody, at least more than once seems a bit much.”

“So does kicking somebody’s crutch out from under them. I broke my nose on the ground.”

“You had a nosebleed, but you didn’t break your nose. I understand where you’re coming from and I’m definitely on your side about--”

“Sydney, I already know this is some talk Mom and Dad put you up to. For all I know, this whole trip is based on that.”

“It’s not! I’m just saying. You could’ve told a teacher,”

“So she can do it all over again a month later? I might as well trip myself next time."

The talk tapered off, fading into obscurity. Sydney sighed through her nostrils, and Mel was tempted to do the same. Jenner had woken up from their talking, lazily rising and meeting his owner’s nose with his own softly. Mel liked to think if Jenner had been there to see what happened, then little miss Shelly would have some free claw marks all over her face. Or if the cat could talk, he’d be firmly on Mel’s side. It would be comforting to know that someone was, at least. 

Mel noted a familiar sensation in her body that her mind had accidentally ignored until the feeling became more urgent. She glared softly at the cascading armies of rain slithering down the windows of the car. “...I gotta use the bathroom.”

She expected to hear a complaint about going when they had the chance to at McDonald’s, but instead, her sister pursed her lips. “I gotta get us some gas. I think I see a car up ahead. Might ask if there’s a station soon,”

Mel frowned in her direction. “You’re just gonna randomly ask a stranger for directions in the middle of the woods?”

“It's not like I’m gonna be walking up to them. It's a police car."

Indeed it was; the familiar black and white sheen of the mustang was just barely visible with the foggy environment still present. It was parked on the opposite side of the road-- likely would have been perfect for catching a speeding driver, who would be going too fast to realize they’d raced by an officer. Sydney was thankfully attentive to the speed limit more often than not, and she was certainly attentive as she pulled over to the opposite side the cop car was facing and slowed to park right in front of it. It wasn’t more than twenty seconds of expectant waiting before the driver’s side door slowly swung open and a middle-aged man stepped out with a worn police jacket and a hat on his person. The greasy looking grey stubble on his strong jaw matched the low-cut style of his receding blonde hair and the darkened shadows of his eyes. They seemed ever so slightly unfocused, mildly skeptical in his visual assessment of them. He crossed the barren street without looking both ways, reaching Sydney’s open window in a few seconds. His nametag read Bowers.

“License?” Was the first thing to come out of his mouth once he reached the door, thumbs hooked into his pockets. His breath smelled...funny, to say the least. It might have been why Jenner tensed, staring hard in his direction with his fur raised on end.

“Oh,” Sydney was reaching for her wallet, but seemed mildly confused in doing so. To be honest, Mel wasn’t quite expecting this sudden request to come up either. “I was just going to ask about where the nearest gas station would be?”

He seemed to ignore her as he took her license and squinted down upon it with a quiet sort of intensity, water dripping without end from the brim of his cap. After a moment, he coughed--or perhaps burped--and handed the license back to her sister. “I get a lot of underage drivers, thought you might be one of them.”

Mel wouldn’t have known how to respond to that statement in her sister’s position, and Sydney wasn’t faring so well with it either. “Um, right. Is there a gas station around here?”

Bowers seemed to think for a moment, glancing down the road and licking his lips slightly. He nodded. “Yep. Another two minutes down the road in that direction, there’s a Nickel Smarts. Can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, Officer.” Sydney offered, but the man was already well on his way back to the car. With enough time for her eyes to adjust, Mel could see a glass bottle or two sitting on the dashboard of the cop car with a red balloon gently floating in the backseat. “Okay then.”

Mel wrinkled her nose as the car shifted into drive and Jenner settled back down into her lap. “Do you think he’s  _ drunk _ ?”

Sydney glanced at the rearview mirror while the car peeled itself back onto the wet road again, looking mildly put off. “Well, he’s certainly had something to drink. That or he’s got no  _ toothpaste _ .”

Mel shared a smirk with her about that.

* * *

Contrary to the claim Officer Bowers made a few minutes ago, Nickel Smarts was most certainly hard to miss. To be utterly frank, it looked half abandoned and rotted, with only two singular gas pumps situated on weed-infested pedestals where grass grew through the cracks in the concrete. Litter from food and even a few shoes and socks seemed to be disseminated across the driveway and the two parking spaces nearby. A tree was growing over the left edge of the building itself; looking as though it might topple over with a good shove. Even in the freezing rain, there had been at least two rats in the litter left around. They fled into the backyard forest when Sydney pulled the car up to park near one of the pumps.

Mel looked out at the building as her driver unbuckled her seatbelt. The dusty windows had cracks in them, with one window near the right being completely boarded up. Graffiti seemed to be permanently engraved into the sides of the gas station, so much so that it was hard to tell what some words were supposed to be. "Are you sure we need gas from here? Couldn't we wait till another one?"

"We don't have until another one," Sydney remarked, though her face seemed at least half as skeptical about the gas station. "Besides, I thought you had to use the restroom." 

"If the bathroom looks anything like how I think it looks, I'm happy to wait." Mel reluctantly unbuckled her seatbelt. Jenner stared silently as she gently relocated him to the backseat, blinking slowly. "We'll be back, Jenner."

Sydney reached for one last gentle scratch behind the ears. "If there's cat food in here, we'll get you some."

" _ Mrow _ ," Said Jenner.

Mel shifted herself out of the car and then used her crutches to maintain her balance, maneuvering around the car to her waiting sister. There was the slightest hint of uncertainty in her face, something that the 10-year old hated to see. She could walk just fine, regardless of what she needed to do so. Sydney knew this for years.

The gas station didn't look as bad as it's outer appearance did, but it was still a long way off from being decent. Two of the eight lights illuminating the whole store were flickering and another one was dead entirely. The aisles of snacks or car maintenance items were a dirty brown color, the product of who knows how many years of rust. The tile flooring was sticky everywhere, and a sickly yellow color that neither sister wanted to know the origins of. At the forefront of the ghastly sights and the repulsive smoky odor that permeated in the atmosphere of the building, was the checkout area and a nearly elderly woman that sat behind the counter. With the mile-deep ashtray next to her, the wrinkled grimace of the lady seemed to fit into the entire store somehow. She didn't say anything upon seeing customers for the first time in who knows how long, preferring to just fix them with a bored and unhappy stare.

"Good evening, " Sydney said, angling her head to look at the back of the store. "Is there a restroom here?"

The older woman raised the cigarette to her lips and, before taking a deep drag, said: "Restrooms are out back."

Mel was afraid she'd say that.

When the girl turned on her crutches and began to head for the door again, Sydney cast her a glance of hidden concern. Mel sighed through her nose and faked a small smile for the sake of her sister, while she pressed into the bar of the door handle with her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Really. It’s literally within walking distance.”

“Hmm, alright.” Sydney acknowledged her assurance with an uneasy nod and made her way to the counter. Mel leaned more forcefully into the door and it opened up without a problem. As the young girl stepped out into the downpour again, she could just barely make out the aloof voice of her sister. “$25 on number 3, please...and what’s up with the balloon there?”

“We only take cash,” Was the smoke riddled reply. “And what balloon?”

The door shut behind Mel.

* * *

Well, the bathroom wasn’t quite as bad as she thought it would be.

It didn’t mean that they didn’t need a custodian or two to attend to all of the grime and cobwebs that lurked in the corners, and maybe a plumber for one of the sink’s unspeakable situation. The tiles likely weren’t supposed to be the sickly yellow color they were now, the more she thought about it. Perhaps the floor could also stand to have fewer dead crickets everywhere too, especially the small piles near the corners of the latrine. Even the usually observant Mel crunched many crackled carcasses beneath her shoes. Critiquing the state of the bathroom itself almost seemed silly when compared to the general look of the gas station itself, in hindsight.

She washed her hands-free of whatever invisible germs she might have picked up from the dirty environment. In mid soap scrub, she glanced from the corner of her eye to the entry door of the bathroom and saw...not one person. Mel rinsed her hands and dried them while gazing at the door from her peripheral, just slightly perturbed. Had she heard someone come in? Heard someone walk past outside? Maybe she was just thinking she'd heard someone enter. It was odd to explain the feeling, but it felt blindingly clear to Mel that she could sense another close presence, as though someone was sharing her personal space. Her imagination.

Sprinkling sheets of rain met her face when she left the decrepit bathroom, not quite as heavy as it was before. Sydney wasn't back outside yet, from what Mel could see from the short travel back to the car, but the passenger side door was open part of the way. Her older sister must have come back to the car for something and gone back in; didn't quite excuse the forgetfulness. Mel sighed as she opened the door, half expecting to find a furry friend meowing in greeting. When she didn't find Jenner curled into a ball in the middle of the seat, Mel shrugged and started to fit one of her crutches into the car whilst glancing to see Jenner in the back seat.

Only, Jenner wasn't there.

Mel promptly forgot all about shoving her crutches into the car, a confused and mildly worried expression creeping onto her face. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but the door was open for who knew how long and it was within the realm of possibility for a cat to escape that way. Even with the weather as terrible as it was, she could imagine poor Jenner being worried and attempting to find his owners. That could lead to a dangerous situation for a near-deaf cat. The young girl backtracked slightly, her eyes darting about the general vicinity of the car and even glancing beneath the body to attempt to make out anything. The search seemed to yield no results the more she looked about, hoping to spot any sign of her kitty from behind some man-made object. 

  
  


"Jenner!" Mel called out, glancing towards the front doors to the gas station. Perhaps she should get Sydney to help her out?

_ Help? Sydney thinks I always need help. I could find Jenner easily without her. _ Mel abruptly thought, which was almost odd considering how random her thought of independence was. Nonetheless, she didn't disagree with the notion and subconsciously turned away from the front of the gas station. "Jenner! Where are you? Jenner, come here, boy!"

Come here, boy? Was Jenner a dog all of a sudden? He wouldn't be able to hear her, anyway.

Her self-criticizing thoughts were broken by a sight from the corner of her eye, and Mel turned in time to catch an all-too-familiar tail slipping behind the building corner nearest to the bathrooms she'd just left. She darted immediately, moving at a brisk pace past the doors to the bathroom and stopping at the crest of a somewhat steep hill. More appropriately, it was a gutter bordered by dozens of large rocks and assorted litter that lay trapped between the wet stones. The daunting height between her and Jenner, who was already making the final steps to the bottom of this trash-ridden valley, made her briefly reconsider her decision. While she ultimately convinced herself to travel down the slope, she did so with the most careful placements that she could, hoping that she didn't slip and tumble haphazardly on some of the sharper debris. The worst of it all was reaching the bottom, where the sewer water soaked her shoes and submerged the bottoms of her crutches. Part of her worried about the potential to step in some homeless guy's poop or on some unsuspecting mocassin, but the thought of poor Jenner was enough to reluctantly push her on.

Speaking of whom, he finally stopped walking and was sitting down in the water. If he were disgusted or discomforted by the freezing liquid, he didn't make it clear through his body language. With his back turned to her, all she could tell was that he was greatly interested in the large sewer pipe opening before them both. The rusty, mottled green cylinder peeked its' metal body from a miniscule hill that marked the end of the rocky canyon. It's dark, gaping maw was big enough for her to crawl into if she crouched low, but looked too shadowy for even a headlight's beam to cut through it. Water trickled lazily from its lower lip, creating the puny river they were both in now.

"Jenner," Mel announced calmly, hoping she didn't startle him with a more firm voice. "Come on, Jenner. Let's get back to--"

Jenner smiled at her.

The suddenness of it robbed Melanie of whatever else she had to say, leaving her staring in muted bewilderment and freezing statuesque where she stood. Her usually talkative brain when completely silent. Cats didn't smile--it was impossible to do so without the facial muscles needed or the general knowledge of expressing it, like an ape. She always saw them smile in cartoons; mischievous grins or innocent beaming on tv, but never in the real world. That was what stumped her brain so hard; as plain as day, the feline in front of her was wearing a grin like any human being.

...Even  _ that _ wasn't entirely accurate, the more she stared in silence. Jenner's eyes were far too wide--wide enough to see the pinkish corners and the tiny black pupils in his yellow orbs, like black holes in the middle of two glowing suns. His smile was wide enough to create multiple folds in his cheeks, and it bared his gums and all of his unusually sharp teeth in the most unsettling manner. It wasn't a smile she could honestly say looked like anything Disney-friendly, especially with the way Jenner's sopping wet fur matched his eery grin. He never blinked in the lengthening stretch of time, and he never stopped staring into her eyes. Mel shivered, and not from the cold.

Jenner's head remained where it was, but his body raised slowly, and began to walk back towards the open sewer pipe. Mel flinched at the unnatural way the cat's body crawled and then slithered into the pipe without breaking eye contact with her, without a single blink to cut the hypnotic gaze. Even when the unsettling view of her cat's body was obscured by the pipe's shadow, his eyes became twin dots of bright yellow. Mel felt the heat from her face flush away as she shuddered again, unsure of whether to move when the visible eyes became larger.

And larger.

And larger.

And larger.

The eyes of a cat were now entirely gone, and Mel found herself fearfully gazing into the eyes that might belong to a starving tiger. A growl reverberated and echoed its way from the pipe, a baritone rumble that broadcasted a feeling of hunger through the air and melted into a throaty chuckle. Mel still stood there, unable to stop the feeling of icy terror scraping down her spine.

" _ H'llo, Melanie _ ." A cheerful, cracking male voice greeted her from the pipe. It sounded like a voice that would fit a circus clown. " _ Fine weather, isn't it? _ "

A hand clamped on her shoulder, and Melanie shrieked.

Sydney almost shrieked back, but she seemed to voluntarily hold her voice and settle for giving her younger sister a bewildered: "Hey! It's just me! It's just me. What are you doing down here?"

Melanie blinked up at her with wide eyes, and then whipped her stare back down to the sewer pipe. The glowing eyes were gone. There was no sign that anything had even been in the pipe to begin with, aside from the infinite waterfall of rainwater. Even the shadow cast by the pipe's opening didn't seem so ominous anymore. Melanie gaped in confusion, looking to her sister again and then looking back at the pipe once more.

"Hello? Why are you down here in front of a sewer basin?" Sydney asked again, the concern in her voice slowly turning into motherly reprimand. "You're getting your shoes all soaked!"

"I…" Mel blinked again. Should she tell her what she'd seen? "I was looking for Jenner. He wasn't in the car and I thought I saw him come down here."

Sydney raised an eyebrow. " Jenner was under the seat when  _ I _ looked."

For a third time, Mel blinked. "...I...He wasn't there when I…"

The vibrating echo of the heaven's thunder vibrated the ground and made the sewage pipe rattle softly. The Eldest of the two siblings frowned and gently pressed a hand against her sister's back. "Let's get back to the car and get out of this rain."

Mel also frowned as she started up the small hill with careful precision. Part of her nerves were still on edge from the moments before her sister arrived, from what had transpired in the dark depths of that pipe. Had she really been following a cat that happened to look exactly like Jenner? No, that was just as possible as it smiling like it did and then talking in that creepy way--which was not possible at all. She didn't have a good reason to explain what she'd seen and heard, but for now she just had to dismiss that it ever even happened. Maybe this trip was just getting to her somehow, and her exhausted mind had just...imagined it. There was a logical explanation for this.

Whatever that reason was, Melanie didn't dare to cast another look back at that pipe.

* * *

The car rolled along casually, skirting the wet spots of the street as nimble as a ballerina. She felt better having Jenner back in her lap again, curled up comfortably and making the slightest purring noise. It felt somewhat comforting to even be back in the car, even if she's been sitting in it for hours on end already. From Mel's peripheral view, she could spot Sydney occasionally looks that seemed even more concerned than before. Great; just when she thought she could get away from people worrying over her, she had to go and cause more concern. As long as Mel refrained from stepping in Sewer water or doing anything else odd, she might be able to avoid any more of those...looks from her sister.

Jenner fidgeted suddenly, just enough for only Mel to take notice of it. She squinted down at him as his eyes opened wide, not quite looking at anything but appearing focused all the same. His fur stood on end, and his ears swiveled continuously as though he was listening for something that had yet to be heard. Melanie glanced around the interior of the car to see if she might find the source of his discomfort, but didn't seem to find much of anything out of the ordinary aside from the cold temperature. The girl glanced at Sydney. "Can you turn the heat up? I think Jenner's cold."

Sydney frowned at the A/C controls. " _ Oops _ . My bad. Forgot to turn it on." 

Melanie stroked Jenner's fur in a repetitive motion that she hoped would relax him. While his muscles slowly lost their tensity, his fur remained standing and his eyes remained alert. Speaking of, Melanie's peripheral caught yet another sight, and she looked up to peer out of her window and behold it. They'd reached a town sign on this lonely looking road, weathered with age and a few different weed growths at it's base. The white paint it may have once had was chipped away by the elements to create a dusky tan look. But the lettering to it was still eligible; still bright enough for her to read:

" **_Welcome to Derry, Maine!_ ** "

As they passed the sign, Melanie could have  _ sworn _ she'd spotted a bright red balloon floating behind it.

  
  



End file.
